Search This Blog

A wide choice of topics covered from the dawn of history right up to present days . Many of these have a wider relevance than purely within the context of Strathearn . The author's viewpoint often is at variance with the accepted opinions espoused elsewhere eg The Jacobite Uprisings and The Reformation .

Bridgend and Crieff in the Early 19th Century

My recentpiece on
cock fighting in Crieff in theearly
part of the 19th century proved an interesting look atthe way oflifeof yesteryear . The same
little book “ Crieff in the Victorian Era “ containsnumerouslittle gems . I havesingled out
a brief essay looking at the Bridgend circa 1830s . Bridgendwasverymuch its own place in those
daysand Bridgenders didnot consider themselves partand parcel of the “ toon up the hill ”
!As onedrivessouth towards the bridge note the higgledypiggy nature of the street scapewithhouses and cottages jutting outat awkwardangles in total
disregardfor auniform building line ! Many of these old
cottagesstill havean appendageat the rear which in daysgone by
wasthe loom shed – now transformedby Ikea or its likes into modern fitted kitchens ! This was a community
dependant on weaving - initially wool, then linen and then eventually cotton. The web – masters
ormiddle men such as the father of
James MacRosty lived inthe “ up
market“ part of Bridgendwhichisnow named Earnbank Road . From
Earnbank Roadthere is anarrowwinding accessto what was once the Earnvale Woollen
Manufactoryerectedby James Mitchell from Comrie . Thiswas on the site of an old saw mill and was
erected about 1860 according to Porteous . The use ofwater power was significant as the Ladewas taken from the Weir at the top end of
what isnow MacRosty Park( near the old Morgan’s Wood ) , and was used
to power the machinerybefore itjoined the Earn upstream from theBridge . The history of the building isquite fascinating . A fire ravage its
fabricand it was rebuilt .On the death of Mitchell it was rented out by
Messrs McKenzie, Campbell & Co in 1877 . Just one year later, the mill was
again burned down in somewhat strange circumstances, to be rebuilt yet again and
eventually run by the spinning company R & H Hay fromWhins of Milton near Stirling
. After closing it was eventually used as the head quarters of well known
Criefflandscape gardener and nursery
man , the late Derek Halley .

Another interesting little building in Bridgend is the
wooden mission hall at the entrance to Park House Dairy . No doubt the good people
of Bridgend resented the good intent of their Crieff neighbours!

What things were like in the early part of the 19th
century is fascinatingly accounted in this little essay from “Crieff in the
Victorian Era” :

A lovely cloud of dust
– not of the crushed metal order – has its beingsomewhereabout those parts of South Bridgend where at present a prosperous jamary holds
sway ;and, sweepingover the bridge
before a delightful summer’s breeze , curls and circles in the air and forms
into any number of fantasticlooking
shapes – the favourite representationbeing the ponderous bows of the old Norsewarship . Before the breezehas lost its playfulinfluence , the dustreaches the Gallowhill , where it feelsthe want of sufficient encouragement , and
drops dead oppositesomebody’s door .
The track of the phantom can be followed if one cares to do so , and if
anyonewantsto take a different route , he may be
slipping off his shoesand stockingsand rolling up his trouserswade the Earn , and arrive at any
desireddestinationon the other side , without let or hindrance .
But in this ( past ) ageof achievement
and advancement people hold no very decided superstitionsabout the bridge- though it looksas unstableas a dromedaryin a travelling
menagerie , and the usual custom is not to wade throughthe waterbut to go across the river in the mannercommon tolater- day pedestrians
.( It may be mentioned that the bridge
referred to was rather a deformedlooking arrangement . Local historians of more or less importancehave endeavoured to solve the question of its
deformity , but in giving a satisfactory answer they have all ignominiously
failed . The fact is thatthe
disfigurementwas caused by a big Comrie
earthquake which took place many years ago , before reporting became “
extraordinary “and before the extent of the upheavals was measured by the wavy
movement of liquid ink in the office of the senior magistrate . The present
bridge over the Earnas built in 1868 .)

When one reaches the
north side of the bridge and takesa
step or two up the hill he finds he has got at last to Crieff. I say at last ,
as anyone not acquaintedwith the
placemay not know exactly when he is in
or out of it . Scatteredhere and there
, in various shapes and sizes , and facing in all directions are a few thatched
houses , Some face north and south , while others are due east and west .
\There is no interferingDean
of Guild Courttoinstruct the peaceful householdersas to what is regularor irregular , or to direct themin the lawregarding oriels ; so they fixtheir windows and their doors just where and how they please , and
consult no one as to whether they have done right or wrong. Here indeed, the
flag of freedom waves triumphantly. On the street side the grass grows for the
benefit of about a dozen cows , and all manner of wildflowers prosper in abundance .The seedsfrom this wayside paradise flit hither and
thither as the prevailingwinds direct ,
and when you see a fair exhibition of the cottage garden on the thatched roof ,
you know that Nature has been exceedingly kind in presenting her beauties
unsolicited . Up near the chimneys,
which have their faces delightfully coloured with soot generated from the fumes
of Auchnafree peats ,dandelions and poppies rear their headsside by side with buttercups and bluebells ,
while along the rigging , grass grows in a healthy form , competing each
yearfor the highest blades .Somewhere
about the gables , from which the rain has been running in streams on to the
kitchen floor, the spaces are closely turfed , and heavy stones are added to
keep the wind from doing furtherdamage
. If the cow is at alla cleanly beast –
sometimes whether it is or not – it is permittedto hang itshat on the door“ ben the hoose “
, and to bellow at its convenience ; but generally speaking , the animal is
apportioned a room at the back , with a through entrance from the kitchen. The
family pig – a lower animal- for reasons which need notbe stated is allotted a separate house in the
yard, and there it grunts the the livelong day as it stares between the gaping
spars at the green kail which grows temptingly outside . Sometimes it raises
itself on its hind legs, with the usual grace, and looks over the top spar to
admire the scenery and general crops in the garden .The trough , however slips
out from below, and as the beast fallsback with a semi – summersault into three feet of filth an extra special
grunt is foerth coming by way of expressing its contempt for “ sour grapes “ .

Further up the street
you are in a nobbier community. A clay pipe and a few sample groceries denote a
merchant’s shop, and if you find a shoe or two in the window you know this is a
shoemakers. Here there is some attempt at decoration. The holes in the window
panes are padded up with old shirts and trousers, red creepers try to climb the
door posts and a bull finch chirps at the outer door . Up the street you may
see some children playing with the dust; here and there dogs liebasking in the sun , and occasionally abusy weaver appears at his door to note the
progress of the sun on itsjourney west
ward. Further up the hill, there a few better class houses . You know what that
means . the addition of a chimney pot in a falling condition, and a sneck on
the door which works every sixth trial. There is also an effort at white
washing.

Here ,then ,is Crieff in
which prosper a noble class of worthy and contented weavers , whose sonsmay live to see their families grow upbrilliantschollars , or to learnof their success as highly intelligent poachers .

Get link

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Google+

Email

Other Apps

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A number of years ago I purchased a small booklet on Glen Artney in the book shop
that existed for some years in Drummond Street Comrie. The
author was the late Gordon Booth FSA , a superb researcher and accomplished
author . He was not a local man since moving to the village from I believe the Island of Islay in the
Inner Hebrides. Since arriving in the area, he had
read and assimilated much of the history and folk lore of this part of
the Strath .I recall the late Tom Weir (
of the woolly hat ) doing a programme in his Weir’s Way series on Glen Artney
an d featuring Gordon Booth . Regrettably
all seven of his little books are out of print although they may be
available to borrow through Perth and Kinross Library Service. I have
incorporated partial excerpts from his writings
in this blog on the Glen which I duly acknowledge as a fitting tribute to his
diligence .

Glen Artney is some eight or so miles in length from the former
prisoner of war camp at Cultybraggan
near Com…

There has been
considerablediscussionrecently regarding thestate of decrepitude ofmany of the olderand betterknownbuildingsin Crieff . The Drummond Arms , the old
Parish Church in Church Street ( aka the Community Hall ) , the George or Strathearn
Hotel and the old Crown Hotel in East High Street . Onedoesnotto travel too far back in
timeto recallthefate ofmany other fine buildings
in Crieff and indeed in Strathearn on a wider basis . Although I devoteda small spacesomemonthsback to Ferntower HouseI finditso fascinating that I
havedecided I am going to elaborate furtherandincludemore informationabout it andits mostcelebrated occupant
General SirDavid Bairdwhose monument dominates so much of the
Strath . It was a building not renownedforany great architectural
meritbut rather for its part in the
overalltapestry oflife in the Strath over two centuries . Once the home of the Preston family in the 15th
century the lands of Ferntower were forfeited to the Crown .These
landsseemed separate …

An Account Of One Of The Most Bloody Political/Religious Battles Fought In This Part Of Scotland The Battle of Tibbermore /Tibbermure

Victory by the Back Door The surge in the amount of violence and mayhem in the Middle
East and in targeted European (including British) locations has caused much grief and sadness to innocent families
and individuals . Atrocities carried out
in the name of religion are not something
that has suddenly occurred .They
have been part of society for longer than we might imagine .

The period of the 1640s in Scotland was one of violent confrontation between the
Royalists faction supporting the Stewart monarch Charles 1 and the fiercely
Presbyterian adherents known as Covenanters . Despite the efforts of James VI
to introduce Bishops into the Kirk , the Covenanters with their
power base in the south and south
west of Scotland were vociferous and militant in pursuit of their cause . In
1644 they marched south into
England to lend support to the Engl…

Retired part time lecturer at Perth College and former rugby correspondent to our local paper the Strathearn Herald .Former President and a Honorary Member of Crieff & Strathearn Rugby Club. Written 4 books on the local history of Strathearn .